Alvi asks overseas doctors to start tele-health services

President regrets brain drain of the past, calls on US-based physicians to establish tele-health services in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD:

President Dr Arif Alvi has said that economic and financial strength is essential for taking independent decisions, adding that the country can achieve accelerated economic growth by imparting skills to youth and women through short and extensive training courses in various fields, especially Information and Communications Technology (ICT).

Virtually addressing the 45th Annual Convention of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA), United States, from the Aiwan-e-Sadr, the president said that the meaningful and active role of the Pakistani diaspora is imperative to uplift Pakistan’s business sectors and to impart skills to youth and women to help Pakistan achieve self-sufficiency.

He regretted that Pakistan did not have the capacity in the past to absorb its highly educated, productive, and precious human resources, which resulted in its migration to developed countries of the world where, by sheer dint of merit, they became high achievers in many high-value sectors and contributed to the development and prosperity of their host country.

Alvi appreciated Pakistani physicians in the US for earning an excellent reputation there and for their valuable contributions toward Pakistan’s development. He urged them to establish telehealth services in Pakistan to provide guidance and consultancy to patients, especially to poor and underserved segments of the population.

Speaking about the salient features of Pakistan’s foreign policy, Alvi said that Pakistan had shifted the focus from geo-strategy to geo-economics and was promoting regional trade and connectivity by optimally utilising its unique geographic location, especially in the context of Central Asian Republics (CARs) which were keen to link themselves to rest of the world to promote regional trade and economic cooperation.

He also emphasised that Pakistan did not believe in polarisation and camp politics and was trying to maintain cordial relations with all its international partners.
APPNA President Dr Haroon Durrani and members of the Pakistani diaspora in the US attended the virtual convention.